


(Magical) Creatures of the Night

by Kei_yuu



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Dark Elf, Dwarf, F/F, Fluff, Goddess, Humor, Kitsune, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Nymph/Sylph, OT9 - Freeform, Slight Pairings, Succubus, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, Werewolf, hellhound
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-06 04:28:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17932835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kei_yuu/pseuds/Kei_yuu
Summary: Mina runs and runs only to lose her way home. Luckily the locals are willing to help out, but with each encounter, Mina gains a little more than just help.





	1. Chapter 1

 

The world is changing.

Villages are growing into towns. Towns grow into cities. Things like entertainment, night life, new technology are coming into society. People start to change. Before, front doors were left unlocked, houses far apart yet the neighbors always welcoming. However, now people have become wary, not just of the stories of demons and witches, but of each other. Humans grow more and more self-indulgent, cynical, greedy with each passing day. Slowly but surely, like an omen in the night, skyscrapers are being built. At this budding age, they’re only a few stories high yet still it makes the humans feel closer to the sky than they’ve ever been.

Mina feels left behind.

Slipping on her worn shoes, she steps out of her cottage, the heavy door shutting behind with a dull thud. Once it had been lit with warm oranges and yellows, filled with laughter and the voices of her parents and even her own. Now it’s just empty. And so is Mina. She escapes into the night, not bothering with a jacket even though she knows for a fact that tonight will be a cold one. Winter is just around the corner. Her breath puffs out like cigarette smoke.

Going on a walk used to be one of Mina’s favorite activities. She’d given it up after her parents left, but sometimes when she holes herself in her little house too long, when the space between the sheets offers no more solace and she just needs to get away, Mina finds herself out on the night once again. Takes a stroll, watches the occasional passerby, kicks at rocks, and thinks about her place in this world. Not that she ever found an answer.

She’s not expecting to find one tonight either, but she finds herself asking anyways.

Mina rounds corner of one of the many constructions sites that had sprung up like weeds at the base of their mountain range. They had promised development, growth, wealth. Mina has only seen destruction, ruin, carnage. She starts to regret her lack of appropriate attire when the biting breeze makes her shiver. Except she’s not ready to turn back yet. She doesn’t think she ever will be.

Mina’s too lost in her own thoughts to notice the liquid seeping into the ground, and takes another step before the wet slap of her soles reaches her ears. A small splash of it soaks into the laces of her other shoe, staining the white string. And she’s still a bit lost when she looks up to see red. Red eyes. Red blood. Red hair and teeth and hands soaked in the stuff. It’s dark out—too dark to see, Mina doesn’t know what time it is, and the light of the moon is hidden by ominous black clouds. But she knows. It’s red.

The figure comes toward her, dripping with something heavy, thicker than water. With each foreboding step, Mina’s heart pounds in the same rhythm, growing louder, faster, more erratic—Another crumpled dark body lies lifeless on the ground behind it in a puddle of the stuff and she sucks in a crippled breath. Mina finds herself trying to turn back now, but can’t. Now she realizes just how important of an option it is to have.

“Hello...” The gruff rasp sends a spike through her heart, shivers down her spine. It’s so loud in the quiet of the night that it grates her eardrums. A heavy sense of dread fills her lungs as her throat closes harshly and her fingertips twitch, ice cold. Blinks back tears she thought had long gone dry.

And just before the night envelops her, Mina wonders if this was the answer she was looking for.

\--- 

“Nayeon! Dammit Nayeon!” The voice is rushed, desperate, maybe a little angry.

“Jesus what? I was already sleeping so why are you yell—fuck.”

“Yeah. Get the gauze and any towels you can find.”

“On it.”

There’s a pressure on Mina’s neck and a throbbing pain under it. Her tongue feels thick and throat swollen; she can’t really see what’s happening. Visible white noise fills her vision, shaky black dots and possible shapes she can’t make out. Her back feels cold, sweaty, and her hands distant. Everything she hears is in echoes, hidden behind a film of cotton. The voices. The footsteps. The blood pounding in her ears. Does she have any blood left in her?

 **RED.** God the red—there’s so much of it. Mina clenches her eyes shut but it does nothing to keep the color out. Unknowingly, her breaths grow raspier, faster, and more muffled shouting floods her mind. The pressure upon her throat lightens just a little. She just wants to sleep. Can’t she just sleep?

The footsteps get eerily closer, and the shape lined with dark dots blinks into Mina’s mind as she cracks an eye open instinctively. The feet are at eye level. Mina must be on the ground, her head turned to the side. Funny, she can’t feel the ground beneath her.

Then she blacks out again.

\---

The wound closes before Mina even wakes. The ugly scar fades in less than a day. Jeongyeon’s there every minute of it.

“Hey.”

Mina tries to answer but her mouth won’t open. Her eyelids are barely listening. All they want to do is shut. She’s offered water and has to be fed it through a straw no matter how desperate she is to drink.

“Do you remember anything?”

Mina lets out a small groan, a subtle shake of the head is all she can manage, and Jeongyeon tells her what she knows.

Mina was attacked in alley. Jeongyeon found her there, in a puddle of blood and her neck ripped open, clothes in shreds. Brought Mina back to her and Nayeon’s place. She doesn’t sugarcoat the gruesome details and Mina is somehow grateful for it.

“Oh Nayeon is like my girlfriend, or wife. She’s kinda loud though, so I banned her from coming in here. Can’t get any rest when she’s around.” She says it in almost an amused way. Then, as if reading Mina’s thoughts, Jeongyeon continues to explain where here is, gesturing around. “This is my house. We’re on the second floor. The first floor is a café that we run together—me and Nayeon—and the basement is uh, it’s like a night club. For people like us.”

This is the first time Mina learns of the creatures. The supernatural beings that seem straight out of fairy tales and Mina wouldn’t believe it, if she wasn’t one herself.

(“You haven’t heard the stories?” Jeongyeon asks her incredulously, when she sees Mina’s confused. “People always tell their kids to keep them out of the woods, and to discourage them from going out at night, because, you know, the creatures of the night will ‘devour them’.”

It sounds an awful lot like boogeyman and Mina isn’t convinced.

“Sure yeah maybe they’re exaggerated, but there’s one thing that sets them apart from fairy tales.” Jeongyeon answers before Mina can even finish her thought. “The creatures are real.”)

\---

“Mina you need to drink.”

Mina’s jaw tightens and she shakes her head. She’s met Nayeon now, two days into her stay at their house, and Nayeon just won’t let up about having her eat.

“You know what you are, right? You’re a vampire.”

Mina rolls her eyes. Thanks for the reminder, she thinks.

“If you don’t drink some blood you’re going to go crazy, then starve, then die.”

Then so be it. Mina shakes her head again, this time fists clenching as well. Nayeon sighs, it must be exasperating for her, Mina recognizes. But she’s not going to drink, and she tells Nayeon just that.

“Come on I even put it in a glass for you. You know how hard it was trying to collect this blood? I’m telling you it’s not my forte. Sure I can lure them in and guys are always dumb and horny enough to fall for my magic, but do you see fangs in my mouth? No!” Nayeon swings her arms out exasperatedly.

“So I had to slice his neck with a little knife and try and collect all the blood in a cup without killing him and let me tell you, it was a _mess_.”

She complains about it running all over, grumbles about it getting on her clothes and how hard it will be to get the stain out, where she had to drag the body and practically lectures Mina about how terrible and horrific it was for her. Mina wishes she would spare some of the details.

Nayeon’s pointed tail curls behind her as she sets the glass on the bar counter where Mina is seated in the basement of their home.

“I’m going to put this here, and it better be empty by the time I get back. Jeongyeon owes me lunch.” She flicks her hair over her shoulder and saunters off to the back, leathery tail twirling behind her.

Either a mother figure or an older sister, Mina hasn’t decided but since Nayeon’s not really related to her, she doesn’t have to listen.

The older girl has straight black hair similar to Mina’s, a stark contrast to Jeongyeon’s shorter dirty blonde locks but they’re both attractive. Maybe it has to do with the whole supernatural thing? Nayeon especially though, tries to pull her in and she’s sure it’s on purpose. And against her will, Mina sometimes does gets distracted. Damn her magic allure. It almost convinces her to drink the glass.

She’s not sure how long she sits there—time is hardly of any matter to her anymore, when Jeongyeon appears next to her. Mina would’ve jumped out of her skin if she wasn’t so callous to everything at the moment.

“Hey Mina, I’m heading out for a bit.”

Mina doesn’t answer. A hand lands on her shoulder and she hears a sigh.

“Try to eat some okay?” And Jeongyeon sinks into her own shadow, which disappears with a whisp out the door. At least she hadn’t nagged Mina. Jeongyeon honestly nags harder than Nayeon and Mina isn’t in the mood for it.

\--- 

The air is much colder than the last time Mina was out, yet it bothers her much less. She isn’t sure where she’s going, but that’s not something new. She just walks, then runs, then walks again. Maybe losing her humanity has some perks; she moves much faster than she used to, and there’s no need to catch her breath. She can get away much easier.

And she has to, before Nayeon picks up the fact that she’s gone.

Mina finds herself in the woods. It’s dark out again, but Mina doesn’t have anything left to lose this time. The pines’ sharp scent invade her nose and it seems her senses have heightened as well. It’s pungent and earthen, almost suffocating, as bile builds in the back of her throat. Sticks and dead leaves crunch under her feet as Mina lazily climbs the incline. She must be at the base of the mountain, since everything from here on goes up. Being immortal doesn’t make her invincible though, and when she trips and scrapes a palm against rough bark, a cut appears under the dirt when she looks. Mina licks it. It tastes good.

It gets darker and darker the further into the trees Mina goes. Even with her newfound vision, it’s almost too dark to see past an arm’s length and the air feels moister than it had when she first left town.

Something feels eerie about the place and not just due to the darkness, but Mina can’t quite put her finger on it. Another snap catches Mina’s attention. She hasn’t taken a step.

Unfreezing a split second later, Mina whips her head around to find the source. What made that noise—What’s out there?

A sharp breath hitches when she finds lights in the dark. Two of them, large, close.

Intense fear grips her heart like a vice because those are definitely not human. The rest of the body is hidden in the brush, in the dark behind pine branches. Blood rushes in her ears and she blinks rapidly in vain to clear her head. Instincts kick in. Attack first. Attack first before she can be attacked.

She’s _not_ going to die here. Not again.

Bursting out of hiding in a roar of noise, the beast leaps high over her, Mina’s eyes hone in on the soft flesh of its belly. An opening. Mina lunges upwards but before her claws can reach, the beast suddenly twists and smacks her hand away—how?

Mina recoils from the impact and backs away a few steps, cautious. It’s facing her again, almost the same height as Mina even while crouching on all fours with ears still flat, lips pulled back and pristine teeth bared yet strangely making no sound. Its pelt is dark brown and thick, fur rich, a tail sticks straight behind the lumbering form.

Mina’s eyes widen in surprise. The tail. The damn thing smacked her arm away with its tail. It was planning it all along. Red tinges the corners of Mina’s vision and she hisses in rage. How dare it land the first hit.

Mina rushes first this time, faster than the naked eye can track and fully intent on paying the beast back for its little trick. A warning growl but Mina pays it no heed, trained on the beast’s every muscle. They begin a deadly dance, a prod here, a backpedal there. They test the waters and Mina’s gaze flicks, immediately tackling once she sees a shift in its back leg. She needs to halt its movement. Her arms clamp around the beast’s torso and it howls, writhing and kicking and manages a nasty gash along Mina’s leg that she has no time to feel. She hisses at it, fangs catching on her own bottom lip.

**RED.**

The sting falls to the back of her mind but the taste stays in the front. Red. All red. A snarl rises in her throat. Mina wants to see the red. She almost can. It flows all throughout the beast’s veins and arteries. One bite and it’ll flow right out.

The beast lurches forward and Mina’s jerked along for the ride, smashing through trees and pine bark scratching at her skin. She hangs on. She even tightens her grip with renewed vigor. A crack. A howl. More frantic scrambling.

If she were still human, she would’ve been thrown off long ago yet she hardly registers the thought.

Unable to wait any longer, Mina prepares to sink her fangs into the beast’s neck—just within reach above her head—even as she’s flung around like a doll. She can feel the liquid pumping through the beast’s body, fueling its bounds across the dark forest floor. Not for long.

A sudden crash fills Mina’s ears and she doesn’t notice she’s on the ground until the pain kicks in. The split second she’d pulled back, rearing to taste, the beast had tossed her off. Mina growls, rolling onto her side, vision blinking in and out of focus, her incisors still sharp, protruding. 

But then a large shape lands on her chest and knocks the wind right out of her, planting her right back on her backside in the dirt. Mina wheezes for breath she didn’t think she needed. Her ribs burn. She can almost hear them creaking under the strain of an unyieldingly heavy paw. 

A low snarl reaches her ears and Mina cracks open her eyelids. She doesn’t see red anymore. It’s yellow. Piercing yellow irises like molten gold and black pupils peer back at her—so close, and if Mina wasn’t concussed, she might dare say they didn’t even hold any malice. But how could they not?

Black spots dance in her peripherals and Mina’s eyes roll back into her head. Mind now filled with yellow instead of the usual red.

\---

She wakes up in a serene part of forest. It’s not quite like woods she was in earlier or maybe it’s another forest entirely. It was too quiet earlier, too unsettling. There’s the chirping of birds here; ones she can’t see yet bring her relief nonetheless.

Picking herself up off the ground, Mina dusts off her clothes. They’re ripped in a few places, the largest of them running down her left thigh and knee at an angle. Strange. Her skin isn’t broken.

Glancing around doesn’t help her pinpoint her location any better. Everything is obscured by fog, misty and reflective and Mina can’t tell what time of day it is. At least it’s not so dark anymore.

She tilts her head back to see if the fog covers even the sky. It doesn’t, except it seems far and the sun nowhere in sight. Has it always been that far?

Fog curls around her ankles and tickles her calves as she decides to take a walk – it might help her find her bearings. She can feel the condensation pushing against her shins with every deliberate step.

Soon a twisty tree comes into view. It’s a sakura tree Mina realizes - a juvenile one. She hasn’t seen cherry blossoms since she left Japan. It seems she’s stumbled upon a small garden as a bamboo patch runs along the right side and a tiny pond sits tranquil in front of the tree. There’s nothing else around, the area cleared for the flowers lining the water and the decorative rocks belonging to the Japanese culture.

Mina’s never heard of such a place, not in stories and definitely not from any of the townsfolk. So just where is she? She lets out an exasperated huff, hand pushing her hair out of her eyes.

That’s it. She’s lost.

Not a second later, Mina halts abruptly in the middle of the small bridge curving over the pond when giggling from her right nearly makes her heart stop. A hand over her thumping chest, she squints for a second and makes out the silhouette of a young woman perched on a larger rock across the water, swishing up the mist behind her. She’s right in front of the tree. How come Mina didn’t see her earlier?

“Hey pretty girl. What are you doing in my territory?”

Mina sucks in a breath but doesn’t move, or more like she can’t. She feels something in the air. Magic. Intimidation. The girl giggles again as the fog clears the view. She’s donned in a very obviously luxurious kimono, if the layers upon layers have anything to say about it. Her fair flows freely in waves – light brown with highlights that shine in reflection of the mist. That’s not what concerns Mina though.

 _Tails_ swish behind the girl. She counts nine.

“Just kidding. I know why you’re here though hmm, maybe you don’t. You almost died last night you know? Luckily your opponent was kind enough to hand you over to me.” The girl crosses her legs and leans forward eagerly upon the rock. “I’ll take good care of you~”

The words hold a strange promise, and Mina feels a chill run down her spine. Her tails resemble an arctic fox’s, white and pristine, long fur swaying in the breeze.

“You—” Her voice comes out a croak. Mina clears her throat. “Who are you?”

“Careful what you ask. You might not like the answer.”

Her irises are amber in color, Mina can catch that all the way across the pond.

The girl sighs when Mina doesn’t respond. “If you want something, you should offer compensation first. Humans are so foolish, thinking they can get whatever they want just by asking.” She huffs, a few tails wrapping around her lithe waist.

Mina opens her mouth to retort, but what comes out is not something even she expected. “I’m not a human.”

A tilt of the head. “Oh?”

“Y-Yes.” Mina wants to get back. Suddenly nothing else really matters anymore as the revelation hits her. Maybe it’s due to the near-death experience (for the second time); the weight upon her chest and heated breath upon her face is still fresh in her memory. Mina shivers again. She doesn’t want to go through that again. She doesn’t want to go through that ever again.

God she’s pathetic.

That’s not really the point is it?

It doesn’t matter really, not that she’s stopped being human, not that she has to drink blood to survive, not that her parents aren’t here anymore, not that she’ll never die and not that she’s still afraid of it. In this moment—in the here and now—Mina only feels remorse and guilt churning in her stomach for leaving without a word to Nayeon or Jeongyeon. They helped her so much. So much more than she could ever repay.

The memory of the look genuine concern on Nayeon’s face before she left Mina at the bar and Jeongyeon’s caring hand upon her shoulder before heading out come back to her only serve to make her insides twist further. If she had died, she'd never get the chance to thank them.

“Well my words still stand. What do you want? And what will you offer back?” A slight accent tinges the fox girl’s voice; it tickles Mina’s memory and feels oh so familiar.

“I need to get home.”

“Why?” Her head tilts innocently, one of the large fuzzy ears atop her head twitches. “So you can be coddled again?” Lips jut out in a pout and a spike of irritation runs through Mina’s sternum.

“I need to go.” Insistence bleeds into her tone. Mina meets the fox’s eyes steadily—as well as she can from across the water.

“...”

“...”

“What will you give me in return for letting you go? And for healing your wounds. I haven’t even charged you for that yet.” She asks without a single twitch in expression, gaze never shifting away.

A gulp. “What do you want?”

“You.”

Mina chokes. Maybe if she’d asked before. “That—That’s one thing I can’t give you.”

“Tch.” A tail flicks and it draws her attention. “Fine, then a connection to the human world. It’s been a while since I’ve gone back and I’ve begun to miss humans and all the other creatures of the night.” Mina doesn’t understand. She frowns, and the girl waves a hand absentmindedly. “A place to stay would be enough. A place to settle, an anchor.”

“And you think I can provide that?”

“Can you not?”

Mina’s mouth opens. The answer is no, except she knows better than to say that, yet lying doesn’t seem like a safe option either, what should she do...But then the flash she catches in the fox’s eyes makes her pause. If she’s not wrong, the girl seems fearful, and suddenly much younger than Mina had originally deemed, but more than that there’s just a small glimmer of something resembling hope.

“Okay.” She finds herself saying. “Deal.”

In an instant, as if waiting for those words, fog swirls around her, curling its way up Mina’s body. Her breath hitches in her throat and her shoulders tense in anxious anticipation.

The fox girl smirks, floating down from her perch all the way across the pond to land a foot upon the bridge’s low wooden railing, wide sleeves fluttering in the breeze. Bending over with a smirk and half-lidded eyes gazing at something lower than Mina’s own, she runs a teasing finger up Mina’s neck, trailing under her chin. “Too bad you didn’t offer yourself to me. I could’ve given you eternal happiness.”

Mina shudders imperceptibly.

“My name is Sana. Do not forget your promise nor my name.”

Mina’s sight fades first as the fog obscures her vision like a blur. The last thing she sees is Sana’s amber eyes narrowed in a smile, almost glowing in the mist.

“I genuinely wish you good luck in finding your way home. And you’ll find that my blessing means much more than just a simple farewell.”

Then the finger under her chin disappears like a ghost in the night.

\---

When Mina opens her eyes, she finds herself somehow even deeper into the forest. Tall ominous trees with thick trunks all around. They tower towards the heavens and are probably older than time itself. Skylight filters in, few and far between in the canopy above. Suddenly fireflies appear one by one like flicks of a light switch, illuminating the brush and grass in ethereal greens and gold beams. It’s like she’s stepped into one of those fairy tales her mother used to read her every night before bed. Mina loved those stories.

“Hello there.”

Mina flinches.

It takes her a moment, but her sensitive ears catch the sound of slight scuffs and she peers up. Another girl, lounging on a branch high above. Her one leg is bent and stepping on the wood with an elbow propped on it, and the other dangling carelessly over the edge. She stares amusedly at mina. The light of the fireflies casts upon her from below.

“How did you get here?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“Do you know how to get back?”

Mina shakes her head.

“...Would you like me to lead you?”

“Would you?” It comes out in full honesty. It would do no good to lie or pretend, Mina knows. Not with these people.

She smirks. Its mischievous, reminiscent of a child. “Perhaps.”

Mina sighs. Of course. “What would you like in return?”

The girl chuckles with mirth. “You catch on fast.”

“Not my first trade of the night.” Mina offers an easy twitch of the lips.

“Okay I’ll take you out of my land, but first tell me your name, stranger.”

“Mina.”

“I’m Tzuyu.” She suddenly leaps down landing with barely a sound a few feet way, long burgundy hair swaying as she stands. Reaching her full height, Mina realizes the other girl’s much taller than the black-haired girl herself. She also possesses gentle features and a slim figure, her skin tone that of milky chocolate. Although the twitching pointed ears manage to pique her interest the most.

Adjusting the wooden bow strapped to her back, the quiver of arrows jostling silently at her hip, Tzuyu motions for her to follow and she does, lost in her own thoughts as they trek along. The path ahead is dark, seemingly around Tzuyu do the fireflies gather.

Mina stares at the taller girl’s back. She’s so lean, and it’s quite obvious from the muscles flexing on her arms and under the girl’s tunic that she’s been living in this forest her whole life. Every once in a while, the tall girl looks back. One might think she’s checking if Mina’s following alright, though Mina somehow knows. The girl is wary of her.

Mina frowns.

At some point, they cross over a gigantic fallen tree with branches sticking out in odd angles, the log serving as a bridge across the murky waters of a swamp. The glittering of the fireflies cast shadows with their ethereal light, making the water that much darker. Something slithers in its depths. Mina has half a mind to warn Tzuyu before the waters light up in brilliant aquas and teals, Tzuyu extending her arm out as if summoning something from the liquid. In a shower of rain just missing Mina, bursts a magnificent creature.

She gapes as Tzuyu pats the noble serpent’s head, who nuzzles her palm gently and flares its nostrils, eyes reflecting solid emerald so Mina can’t tell where it’s looking. Water drips down its flowing whiskers and turquoise mane and its head is the size of a horse, yet Mina can tell the creature is a gentle giant not unlike her tall companion, who now sports her own small smile. The beast’s scales gleam a color matching that of the water, which once seemed murky and dark, now shining like the cleanest blue sea illuminated from within.

Looking from the eyes of the serpent to that of Tzuyu, Mina speaks with just her gaze how incredible this is. Then they continue their journey the same as before, and Tzuyu no longer glances over her shoulder.

They do, however, come across other animals, and Tzuyu pets all of them like a hello to a dear old friend. Among them is a unicorn whose white pelt glimmers with starlight, neighing with pride and stomping with the force of an entire stampede, then a tortoise covered in moss that Mina would’ve been left thinking was a large rock or perhaps a small mountain if not for the shy head that pokes out when Tzuyu comes near.

Mina never does end up voicing out her wonder at all the sights Tzuyu shows her. And Tzuyu never tells her to look. She’s not expecting an answer.

Mina stands off to the side each time, not wanting to intrude on Tzuyu as she checks on her forest friends until a small pressure on her foot has her looking down. A baby elk is sniffing at her knee and Mina isn’t sure how she didn’t notice but it’s poking her shoe with its front hoof now. Recovering from her initial shock, Mina unfreezes and slowly bends down. At crouching level, the baby is just about the same height and Mina giggles when she sees little nubs on its head, the promise of grand antlers to come. Its black eyes are wide with curiosity.

Reaching a hand out, the baby then sniffs her index finger leaving Mina wondering what she smells like, then he licks her finger, prompting a gasp and another giggle from Mina. She was never much good with people, but animals are a different story.

She waves goodbye, still squatting on the forest floor as the baby bounds back to its parents who were waiting a few yards away. The father is just as awe-evoking as Mina imagines the child to grow up to be. It seems Tzuyu is friends with them too, from the way she waves as well. They turn and head off into the forest and Mina is left with a content smile as she stands, straightening her clothes and following after her silent companion once again.

Not much later, they come upon the edge of the forest and light breaks through, blinding Mina for at least three moments until she adjusts. A grassy expanse lies ahead, stretching farther than the eye can see.

Slender fingers grace Mina’s at her side and she’s almost startled. A small smooth object is slipped into her palm.

“I’d like to see your land next time.”

Mina nods once.

Tzuyu smiles, and she’s off back into the trees before Mina can even blink, taking the fireflies with her.

And so is Mina without a backwards glance. She trudges through the long flowing grass, the weeds ticking her ankles and shins and she feels bad for trampling them beneath her feet. There really is no other way though and she just mutters an apology in advance for all the trampling she’s about to do.

The sun shining bright above does not faze Mina in the slightest. This is when she first registers since the journey began, that she is indeed still a vampire, having been to distracted by her surroundings to remember anything about herself at all. Under normal circumstances, the sun should weaken her, make her nauseous and queasy, uneasy, but she’s hardly had a normal moment since she stepped into those woods however long ago.

“BOO!”

“Ah!” Mina gives a small shriek and shrinks back, arms clutched to her chest.

“Haha I got you didn’t I? You’re a quiet one though. Most scream louder than that, much louder,” The girl winces in memory. This one is shorter than Mina. She’s got a laurel wreath on perched on her head and her bright, almost unnaturally blue eyes twinkle with spirit. Long silky blonde locks radiate brighter than the sun and her smile is the widest Mina’s ever seen. Mina almost has to squint to look at her.

She clears her throat, only slightly embarrassed at her earlier squeak. “Um hello, I’m trying to get back to my village. Maybe you can help me?”

“Hmm~” The girl taps a finger on her chin, except it’s obvious she’s only pretending to consider with that ever-present grin, “Maybe I can! Well not directly since I’ve never been to the human world but I know someone who has! She can probably help. I’ll take you to her now!”

“O-Okay.” Mina should be beyond stuttering by this third meeting, but the sheer enthusiasm catches her off guard.

“Oh and I’m Dahyun by the way. Nice to meet ya!” She gives a happy salute and Mina can’t help but smile back.

“I’m Mina.”

“Nice to meet you Mina~” Dahyun hums as she produces a medium length staff out of nowhere. On it are intricate carvings of leaves and intertwining vines, the wood a warm orangish brown. And before Mina can observe any more, she’s caught off guard again because they’re _levitating_.

She squeals at first, then whimpers as she accidently leans back a little too far but mellow winds balance her weight so she tilts forward and now she’s laughing. She laughing like she hasn’t laughed in years and it’s _liberating_.

They go higher and bank to the right, Mina following right on Dahyun’s tail, then the left, then drop straight down as Mina screams, the sound then turning into merry laughter again the next second when they pull back up suddenly, her fingers trailing the tips of the grass.

Mina can see Dahyun look back out of the corner of her eyes, which is welling up with tears from the winds and emotions she can’t presently name. The girl is beaming at her, she does notice this. She keeps laughing and laughing until her sides hurt.

It’s been a long time since Mina’s dreamt of flight.

\---

Mina’s starting to feel glad she’s not human anymore. She can’t imagine experiencing everything she has until now as a human. There’s a strange sense of comfort in the fact that she’s not exactly normal either, as these magical encounters happen one after another.

“Look! Those are turtledoves! Aren’t they pretty?” Dahyun has to shout a little to be heard over the wind, but it carries rather easily back to her ears.

Mina’s gaze follows to where Dahyun’s pointing and her breath is taken away. Pure white doves hover above them, their silhouettes emboldened by the sun as the two circles around each other in play. Dahyun laughs when they dive down next to her, one even lands on her shoulder and Mina’s mouth is still hanging open at the sight. Dahyun just shoos them off though, yet not without another laugh.

“They’re cute and all, but last time one pooped on my shoulder and I didn’t appreciate cleaning it out of my shirt.”

Dahyun makes a face and a giggle erupts from Mina’s mouth before she can stop herself. At one point, Dahyun even hands the staff to Mina to ‘steer’ as she puts it and Dahyun starts mimicking an eagle—very terribly Mina might add, but it’s probably the closest one to get to imitating an eagle, considering most others wouldn’t be able to actually fly like one. Mina just laughs hysterically when Dahyun starts freaking cawing, arms still flapping wildly.

She hasn’t been able to stop laughing since she met Dahyun and she’s exhausted in a very satisfied way, even if her sides and abs ache. And even more giddy laughter bubbles up in her throat as Dahyun sets both of them down. Mina stumbles a little at the feeling of solid ground under her feet.

“Had fun?”

Her hair must be a windblown mess (Dahyun’s too but she somehow works it) and Mina has to blink dazedly after staring up at the sun far too many times along the way. However, the toothy grin Dahyun continues giving her doesn’t let Mina say anything other than yes.

“That’s good! I used to find it kinda scary, but now I love flying it feels so free! Doesn’t it?”

“Yes.” Mina can’t agree more.

They’ve finally arrived at the side of a hill so steep that standing at its foot it’s tall as a mountain. Taller, thin trees are randomly scattered across the mound, lacking the masses of leaves that the ones in Tzuyu’s land had. They stick straight up towards the sky, which is now a dreary gray. Mina can tell she’s close to her own world.

Dahyun bounces right up and raps on round door set in hillside with her staff. It’s an odd one, painted navy blue with a brass knocker in the middle, no handle in sight.

Waiting for it to open, Mina takes this time to observe her surroundings and finds a stream on the far side of the hill that reflects the light in her eyes. There are rocks ranging from pebbles to flat slabs that litter their way all the way to Mina’s feet at the edge of the plains. The soil is a rich mineral maroon, a mix of sand and clay that prints with Mina’s every step. Dahyun knocks again, a little more urgent this time.

A rock slab pops open next to Mina and her heart nearly leaps out of her chest.

“Chaeyoung!” Dahyun spots it instantly. “Made another secret entrance to your hobbit hill I see~”

Chaeyoung wears goggles on her head, hair a strawberry blonde and styled in a bob, she tugs off thick leather working gloves after she finishes clambering out of the hole the rock left, footsteps thumping and echoing against what Mina assumes to be a ladder. She catches the glint of metal somewhere down below.

“Not a hobbit, Dahyun. I told you that before.”

“Yeah every single time I call you one.”

The two wrap each other up in a tight bear hug. Pulling back, Chaeyoung chuckles when Dahyun tries to act cute by puffing her cheeks. She pinches them.

“New friend?” Chaeyoung voices when she catches sight of Mina.

Dahyun nods vigorously with a wide grin. Mina’s heart soars.

“She’s trying to make it back to her town. You know the one she’s talking ’bout right?”

“Yeah I think. She probably came from the one closest to here. It showed up yesterday. You’d know if you ever cared.” Chaeyoung accuses with absolutely no malice. They stand close together, not bothering to move away after separating from the hug and Chaeyoung elbows Dahyun playfully.

Dahyun rolls her eyes and elbows back a few times. “It changes every day! Besides, you know I don’t.”

“Fair enough.”

Dahyun is the freest soul ever, Mina thinks, then frowns at the expression she thought she saw flash across Dahyun’s face. Did she imagine it?

“And you only know ‘cause you’re always heading into the human realm to see what trinkets they’ve made. Not that they’ve made anything impressive over the last couple decades.” She drones dully.

Chaeyoung makes the most incredulous face. “What do you mean! Everything I bring back you snatch up like an owl! And they’ve been onto something lately. I feel an industrial revolution coming on.” She bumps her fist against Dahyun’s shoulder as the latter scrunches up her nose.

“What the heck is that.”

Mina chuckles, and Chaeyoung rolls her eyes, and Dahyun just grins again albeit sheepishly this time. It almost makes Mina forget.

The look Chaeyoung sends her way next is one of amused exasperation, shaking her head towards Dahyun and apologizing with her eyes. The sense of shared equality nearly overwhelms Mina, building from within like a boiling kettle and threatening to spill.

“So do you want to come in for some tea? I picked up some on my last trip. Not sure if I can make it as good as the humans can, but I do have some nice strawberry cake to go along with it.” The mention of the cake makes Chaeyoung light up like a child on Christmas morning, even though she’s offering the cake herself.

Before Mina can reply, Dahyun beats her to it. “Nah I think she wants to get back soon. Right, Mina?”

Mina can only nod, and it’s only the slightest bit hesitant to her credit.

“Alright then, next time~”

“Maybe...” Mina starts a little too suddenly, accidentally growing timid when they both turn toward her. “You guys can come over to my house for tea next time...If you visit again.” She looks to Chaeyoung and the latter blinks once, mouth opening, then her lips split into a large grin.

“That sounds awesome! You really don’t mind us coming over?”

Mina nods.

Chaeyoung does a fist pump, then flings the same arm over Dahyun’s shoulders. “Hey are you going?”

“I don’t know...”

“Aw come on Mina went and invited us the least you can do is accept.”

Dahyun rubs at the back of her neck and sends Mina an awkward smile which Mina returns. “Sorry I don’t know yet. I’ll think about it.”

Then, all too soon for Mina’s liking, Chaeyoung hands her a tiny hammer and offers her the instructions to make it back home, jerking a thumb over her shoulder.

“Okay then! Just cross over this hill and you’ll find what you’re looking for.”

 

\---

When Mina makes it back to civilization, the first thing that hits her is her hunger. Her insatiable, aching, burning, excruciating twisting of her gut. Back over the hill she didn’t feel a thing, not in the field and not in the forest. Almost as if she wasn’t in her own body. But she most definitely is now.

She stumbles over her own two feet as she saunters down the hill. It’s steep. Steeper than she remembers. Mina’s falling more than walking and at this speed her heavy-as-lead legs can’t keep up. She trips and crashes with and oomph, rolling and sliding to the bottom. A couple sticks poke at her side as Mina takes a moment to catch her breath before pushing strands of hair out of her face, groaning.

Everything’s a blur even as she stumbles into town, she may have knocked over a few post boxes though she doesn’t remember. The best she can do is to keep to the alleys since she’s probably a bigger danger now than anything else out there. It’s definitely late out and no one’s awake, the only thing she can hear is her own labored breathing as she leans against a brick wall. It’s odd, she thought vampires didn’t have to breathe. Swallowing thickly, she pushes off weakly from the wall and drags her legs forward. What she doesn’t expect though, is that someone blocks her way.

Mina pants. She feels delirious, her head swimming, vision fading in and out of utter darkness. She crashes into the stranger’s shoulder, her entire weight dead upon her. Wavy dark brown locks tickle her nose, the ends just making it past the girl’s collarbone where Mina’s face is buried.

“Help...please...” She pants.

“Help with what?” Shouldn’t it be obvious. Irritation still rises within her even if Mina can’t act upon it.

“Jeongyeon...I’m,” Mina mumbles. Eyelids fluttering shut, her voice drifts off. “I’m looking for Jeongyeon...”

“Jeongyeon?” The girl hoisting her up frowns, nose crinkling at the name.

Mina barely has any energy left now, no energy to confirm and none at all to explain.

“Huh. Alright fine, I’ll take you to her. Guess you’re too weak to attack me this time anyways.” She turns Mina to the side and swings an arm under her knees, lifting her bridal style entirely too effortlessly.

In the back of her consciousness, Mina briefly registers the statement, but she’s so exhausted, so very extremely tired. Just drifts off into a dreamless sleep, the light scent of peaches lulling her into an even deeper peaceful slumber.

\---

Nayeon tries to get her to drink again. Mina downs the glass in three gulps.

“Thank you.” She mumbles as she wipes at her lips though nothing’s there. She hadn’t missed a single drop. The blood is rejuvenating and Mina can’t even remember why she refused it in the first place.

“Uh, no problem?” Nayeon looks like she’s just seen Jeongyeon run around town stark naked, which means a little amused and confused and with a lot of pent up excitement.

When Jeongyeon comes in the room, Mina is squeezed in another bone crushing hug and they both sit at her bedside pestering her with questions and scolding, but Mina doesn’t mind answering. They also tell her the girl who carried her back is Jeongyeon’s friend, apparently. She’s not there when Mina wakes up with that heavy sense of déjà vu; Jeongyeon promises she’ll be back.

“Thank you.” She says again when the conversations lulls.

A beat passes, then a hand places gentle pats on Mina’s head.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Mina could cry. Nayeon beats her to it.

“You big baby! We were so worried!” And she tackles Mina in a hug. Jeongyeon sighs and shakes her head, as if to say this is why Nayeon was banned last time.

“You’re the baby here you’re sure bawling like one.”

Nayeon sniffles and sends her a watery glare from Mina’s shoulder, ruined entirely by her pout. “I will end you.”

Jeongyeon mocks her with her face and Mina giggles, it startles both of them as Jeongyeon blinks and Nayeon turns to her with wide eyes, but before long they’re all laughing as Nayeon tries to tickle more laughter out of Mina. It doesn’t take much though, for her to keep laughing.

\---

From there, Mina does everything she can to pay back their hospitality, so she has been trying by helping wherever she can in the club and café. Her first order of business is to thank them for everything they’ve done for her, and for everything they’ll likely do for her in the future. (Nayeon’s been keeping a hawk’s eye watch on her lately so she won’t ‘disappear in the midst of her designated bath time again’.) And though Mina says she can take of herself and make herself scarce once again, she’s absolutely forbidden to do anything of the sort before she can even finish the sentence. Oh well, she decides with an easy smile.

It takes Mina two weeks, a whole two weeks later, to finally preach her idea to Jeongyeon and Nayeon. The fear of rejection scares her just a little, mostly from Jeongyeon, but Nayeon loves the idea once she’s heard it.

Why she’s never met them before, Mina doesn’t know, only wishes she could’ve met them sooner.

And Nayeon is a lot like Sana, Mina realizes one time she overhears her and Jeongyeon’s conversation. Or maybe Sana is like Nayeon.

“I’m hungry~!” Nayeon whines.

“Hang on we have to close up first.”

“Ah poo we can just do that tomorrow morning.”

Mina can imagine the glare Jeongyeon sends her. She’s been on the receiving end before as the latter is obsessed with being neat and clean. Mina will never drink blood in the living room again she swears on her life and most precious memories. The one drop of a stain in the carpet serves as a reminder to that vow.

“Fine I can just get it from Mina.”

Jeongyeon snorts suddenly. “Yeah right.”

“What? You don’t think I will?!” Nayeon’s tone is challenging. It’s how she gets whenever she has something to prove.

“God no. You wouldn’t touch a hair on Mina’s head.”

“Why just because you made me promise to come to you first?”

A sigh. “No. Because, and I quote, ‘Mina’s too precious. If anyone ever hurts her, I’ll have to suck their soul out.’” Jeongyeon repeats a little nasally.

“Tch, I will.”

“No you won’t! Momo’s still alive isn’t she?”

“Oh shut up!”

Jeongyeon comes out of that argument on the winning side for once, Nayeon comes out of it with a promise to fulfill her later courtesy of Jeongyeon, and Mina comes out of it with a bit more understanding about certain types of creatures of the night (namely the flirty, prideful ones).

\---

Mina works like she’s possessed. She dashes around town trying so hard, too hard to find the perfect place. A place to be connected to, a place to settle down, a place to belong. Most of her knows she’s doing this to fulfill her promises to the other girls, yet another part of her, deep within and so forgotten, recognizes that she’s doing this for herself.

It’s been so long since Mina belonged as well.

She checks every building, calls every flyer and newspaper, hangs out in bars to hear news of any possibility – Mina doesn’t want to miss a single one.

She finds the perfect place a month later. It’s a cabin. It’s old and out of the way. No one’s lived in it for at least a year or two and is in dire need of a good scrubbing inside and out if the crinkling leaves under her boots are any indication as she crosses through the kitchen. It’s perfect.

Two stories tall, made of natural thick oak logs. A large brick hearth nestles in the living room wall like it’s just begging for a few pieces of firewood to warm up the home and welcome a new resident. It’s not the most modern, not by a long shot. It’s not the biggest house, not even close. It’s not even anything special.

Except there’s just enough room for all of them, Mina thinks with a fond smile.

\--- 

Another dreadful week later, the home is ready. Mina bubbles with excitement threatening to overflow as she wakes up at the crack of dawn, jumping out her window before Jeongyeon and Nayeon are even up. She told them last night that she’d be heading out early today, and that she’ll be at the cabin and for them to drop by later, so hopefully they don’t worry. Mina giggles, they’re like her parents the way they worry.

The air is frosty and clear, refreshing even. The sun’s just starting to rise and the snow’s beginning to melt and Mina can’t help but feel it’s the morning of a new beginning.

She’s practically skipping the whole way to the cabin, humming to herself as she revels in the way her hard work for the last month and a half pay off. Granted, she could’ve asked for help. Jeongyeon would’ve gladly lent her a hand, and also drag a lazy Nayeon along. Chaeyoung probably could’ve spruced the place up with her designs and art and gadgets, Dahyun could’ve kept her company while she cleaned or blown away all the dust with a swish of her staff, and Tzuyu never even really asked Mina for a place to stay only a tour. Sana...Sana she probably shouldn’t invite until it’s ready now that she thinks about it. In any case, Mina wanted everything to be perfect when they got here. She made a deal, and she would deliver.

Besides, she did end up getting some useful help that sped up the process quite a bit. 

Once inside, Mina sits cross-legged on the hardwood floor of the family room, facing the hearth. She has yet to acquire any furniture or decorations for the room yet, she figures the other can help her pick, and has only brought in the necessary beds for the nine rooms for their first night should they choose to stay.

(There’s only eight of them, but call it a hunch that Mina prepares nine beds and fate that there are nine rooms.)

Timidly pulling a small wrapped cotton cloth from her pocket, Mina sets about placing her tokens on the floor. She unwraps the cloth, smoothing it until it’s a flat square against the ground before she separates and arranges the gifts with a tender touch. They’re precious, Mina doesn’t want to damage them.

First, there’s the small stone pebble Mina received from Tzuyu. Her second token, and the first tangible one. The one she received from Sana can’t be held but is just as precious.

The pebble is about the size of a coin, reflective and smooth to the touch, probably from being weathered down by the winds or water. Its color is that of a deep swirling, stoic emerald – the same as Tzuyu’s irises.

Next to that, Mina places Chaeyoung’s tiny hammer. It has a dull red wood handle that also matches Chaeyoung’s crackling fire eyes, the head is made with steel that adds weight to the piece, with little dings on the flat side that alert Mina to its history – presumedly from Chaeyoung’s tinkering with her creations.

The last is from Dahyun. When Mina had woken up the next morning after making it back, she’d found a golden leaf - the same brilliance as Dahyun’s hair - hovering above her face about two feet above the bed. As her eyes focused, immediately she’d giddily plucked it out of the air, giggling at the thought of Dahyun clumsily searching for her in this town when the energetic girl had apparently never bothered visiting any human towns before, and floating the leaf all to way to her. She set the leaf gently on her dresser next to all her other tokens. That’s a yes then.

She had been so excited, so ready to put them to use, heart warming at the sight of all the tokens she’d gotten from her new encounters. Though now that she finally gets to use them, Mina is actually dreading the act.

What if they don’t want to come? What if they forgot about Mina? What if this is a bad time? What if they don’t get along? What if she isn’t supposed to use them?

What if they aren’t really tokens of their contracts and promises and (potential) friendship and Mina is reading too much into this? She was human just up until a little while ago, it’d be pompous of her to think she’s anything like them. That she’s close to them in any way.

Footsteps pad behind her and Mina twists to take a look.

(“If you let me stay here, I’ll help you clean it up.”

“Deal.” Mina immediately says. It isn’t the first time she’s made a deal recently, and she certainly isn’t as hesitant or intimidated as the first. Still she finds it amusing that these nonhumans like making deals so much. Maybe Momo will get along with Sana, Mina smiles. They seem like they’d get along.)

Momo takes a seat beside Mina, not too close yet not too far, and just a little bit behind her. Just close enough for support, and a bit of privacy as Mina appraises her gifts. The wavy-haired brunette offers the black-haired girl a small smile and a crinkle of the eyes. Mina smiles back.

Turning back around, Mina decides to contact them in reverse order, which makes Chaeyoung first. She might as well go through all of them before panicking about whether it worked or not, she reasons.

She taps the hammer lightly on the wooden floor, not really sure how to actually call any of them, but it’s a hammer. She should pound stuff with it right?

“Chaeyoung?” She speaks. No answer. Mina shrugs, more for herself and maybe a little for Momo who’s watching, and moves on.

Next she waves the leaf in the air with a light pinch on the stem, careful not to rip it or anything. She even sets it on her own hair like Dahyun’s laurel wreath. “Dahyun.”

“Tzuyu.” Mina pets the small stone like she’s seen Tzuyu do to all of her friends and holds it up to her eye, imagining the same colored irises of the tall girl.

Letting out a small breath, a white puff of the air, Mina places the smooth pebble back onto the cloth. And last but not least.

“Sana.” She nearly whispers on accident. There’s no souvenir from her encounter with Sana, but Mina has her name and she definitely hasn’t forgotten it nor the promise that came with. Wanting the fox to hear her and hastily clearing her throat, Mina tries again. “Sana.”

“...”

“Is that all of them?” Momo speaks up after a beat of silence.

“Yeah.” Her tone is dull.

“So...should we just wait?”

“...I—”

The front door bursts open and a figure zips in through the window, which Mina had opened earlier to air out the place.

“I win!” Dahyun springs to her feet having rolled to stick her landing. Well that answers the question. Mina’s heart almost stopped (again). At least her worrying’s over.

“Just the race! It’s no fair you can fly!” Chaeyoung stomps over to where the three are gathered. Strangely, there’s no snow from Chaeyoung’s steps.

Dahyun sticks her tongue out at her.

“And I won the bet!”

Momo scratches her head and voices out Mina’s thoughts. “What bet?”

“We made a bet about who you’d call first!”

“I won!” Chaeyoung shouts triumphantly, a fist raised high as if Mina doesn’t already know who she, herself, contacted first.

“If we’re having a race about who got here first, I think I win.” Someone speaks from the corner of the room.

“Tzuyu!”

Bow slung across her shoulder and pointed ears twitching slightly, she smiles that innocent mischievous smirk Mina registers immediately from her memory as she rushes to give the younger a tight hug. She’d missed the similar quiet company of the tall girl. And she’s timid too, so that’s a bonus. Tzuyu’s cheeks tint pink as she hugs Mina back.

Suddenly, Sana sputters out of the hearth in a blast of smoke and ashes. She rolls once, ramming her shoulder into the floor obviously not planned and not nearly as graceful as Dahyun as she crawls and stumbles to her feet, coughing and hacking the whole way.

“You’re late.” Mina is in a good mood so the words spill out accidentally, but she’s hesitant still.

Sana looks at Mina, eyes watery, and coughs into her sleeve a few more times, before stretching her arms out wide and rushing forward, fully intent on crushing her in a hug. “Minaaaa!”

Mina dodges easily.

“Your kimono is covered in soot—which is crumbling around the room, and you have soot smeared on your face. And why did you come out of the fireplace?” She’s so different from when Mina first met her. Is this really the fox woman who looked like she could devour Mina in more ways than one?

Sana pouts, not even a beat off, “I couldn’t find you! Your voice is too quiet I should’ve given you something so it’d be easier to pinpoint your exact location.”

She hands Mina a small origami crane, the size of her palm. The paper has cherry blossoms of varying shades of pink scattered across it, the folds crisp and neat. It’s beautiful.

“And this is your realm you know, silly.” Sana bops her on the nose leaving a dot of soot Mina can see if she crosses her pupils. “I’m not the host here~”

Mina shoulders relax as she gazes at the crane fondly, then turns back to Sana. “It’s cute, but shouldn’t it be a fox?”

“I can’t fold those.”

Now it’s Mina’s turn to pout and Sana very immediately amends. “I’ll try next time.”

“Okay~” A tug on her sleeve has Mina’s brows scrunching when she turns. “Momo?”

“Am I supposed to give you something? Should I give you something?” Mina can practically see her puppy ears drooping and has to fight a faint urge to pinch Momo’s cheeks.

“No that’s okay Momo. It’s not like you have to give me anything.” That only makes the frown deeper.

“I could give you a tuft of my fur.” Momo offers after a moment of thought.

“No thanks.”

“A tooth?”

“Ew no Momo!”

Her eyebrows crease together. “A—”

“That’s okay! I’m okay really.” Mina cuts her off before anything weirder can spill out of her mouth.

This is when Nayeon and Jeongyeon choose to arrive, patting off snowflakes and kicking off their boots. They’re the only ones dressed for the weather, seeing as it’s winter outside. Nayeon envelops Mina in a hug before she can even say hello and Jeongyeon files in after her chuckling.

“Why so dramatic? We just saw her a few hours ago.”

“I was stuck with poor company for those long hours that’s why.”

Jeongyeon raises a brow. “You mean yourself?”

“Now look here—”

The introductions begin and it’s awkward. As awkward as you would expect a gathering of supernatural beings to be. But it doesn’t last long.

It first starts fading when Jeongyeon helps Sana clean up, or at least she tries to. With a snap of the bubbly girl’s fingers, all the dust and soot goes poof and Sana looks as impeccable as ever, her tails fluffy as ever. It must help with the laundry, Mina thinks.

“Oh sorry I forgot it’s probably cold.” Mina spots Dahyun crouched in front of the fireplace when she comes back in the room, having left to safely stow away the paper crane in the room she’d already picked for herself. Mina doesn’t get affected by the weather as much anymore, so it’s not hard to forget certain needs she doesn’t have.

“It’s okay. I always wanted to try one of these things.” And by the glint in Dahyun’s eyes, she doesn’t doubt the statement. Dahyun attempts to light the thing, but it doesn’t go so well and Chaeyoung offers to help her.

“Just let me do it.”

“No I can handle it.”

“Dude I can literally just light it up with a fireball why are you rubbing those sticks together?”

“It’s the human way!”

“I thought you didn’t care!”

It shrinks a little more when Momo laughs at their antics while trying to keep still because Nayeon has decided to (attempt to) braid her hair, but the latter cracks a smile too even in the midst of her intense concentration.

As Jeongyeon pulls her to sit on the floor, most of the others following suit until they’re in a circle, Mina thinks she should be worried about the house (very) potentially catching fire, though she also doesn’t want to take on the responsibility of being the voice of reason for the whole group. They’ll be fine for now. Someone else can fill that spot.

And the awkwardness all but disappears as Sana has begun to try and seduce(?) Tzuyu by clinging to her like a leech, yet by the deep-set frown on the latter’s face it doesn’t seem to be working—maybe even having the opposite effect and Mina shudders just thinking about dealing with that when she catches the silent plea Tzuyu sends in her gaze.

_Sorry Tzuyu._

Somehow Jeongyeon and Momo have switched places and now the latter has her arms wrapped around Mina’s waist, and she’s taking full advantage of it by leaning on Momo as well. Sana and Tzuyu are across from her and to Tzuyu’s left is Chaeyoung and Dahyun, the latter of who is beside Mina. Occupying the other side of Momo is Nayeon and Jeongyeon. (They’re bickering again, what do you know.)

Though to be honest, she isn’t sure where in the world they are, or even what era they’re in as they all sit in the family room of this cabin. Sana’s kimono is so out of place with Chaeyoung’s leather apron. Tzuyu’s tribal tunic rivals Dahyun’s white roman sundress and neither go with Momo’s frayed hoodie. Perhaps Mina’s navy sweater could pass as being from the same period as Momo along with Jeongyeon’s leather jacket and Nayeon’s turtleneck, but none of the others and they all speak of things the others know nothing about.

Dahyun wants to visit all the nature hotspots in the human realm and maybe a hot spring. Tzuyu says she’s heard of some café that has dogs running around in it that you can pet while you eat. Chaeyoung talks about how she’s excited for the humans to develop something called a computer. Sana wonders if the war has ended in Japan yet (it has, Mina tells her) and Momo just wants to eat some jokbal, whatever that is.

But that’s what makes the conversation interesting.

Chaeyoung moves her seat across the room and sketches up some designs for Jeongyeon’s bar, advising Jeongyeon to maybe install wifi when that’s invented.

“What’s wifi?”

“It’s god’s work.”

Nayeon catches Sana up on the fashion of the humans these days from several different countries and Tzuyu even seems slightly interested.

“Can we go shopping later? I wanna buy some new clothes that aren’t as suffocating and heavy.” Sana lifts her arms with her long flapping sleeves to prove her point.

“Sure! Clothes have been getting a lot lighter lately, and prettier too. Much better than those rags they used to wear a few decades ago. And I’ve been dying to go out but Jeongyeon refuses to go shopping with me even though she buys more shit than I do!”

“Excuse me!” Jeongyeon turns her head in their direction, interrupting her own conversation with Chaeyoung. “I buy useful things!”

Nayeon sticks her tongue out at her and Tzuyu doesn’t care.

“Lighter clothes? Are they still durable? I don’t like it when they rip easily...they always get snagged on branches.” Despite her outlook, Nayeon even offers to take Tzuyu wherever she wants since she’s pretty knowledgeable about the human world. Maybe she’s reliable after all and Mina breathes a small sigh of relief.

Then that leaves Momo telling Dahyun (with Mina in the middle) about all the good food she’s had and yet to have and they eagerly agree on traveling the world to try them all someday.

“Let’s go to a hot spring first! You’ll come with, right Mina? I wanna eat some eggs~”

“What kind of eggs?”

“The yummy kind~”

They somehow click together and there’s not a beat of silence between the conversations that Dahyun doesn’t fill with some weird dancing, that Sana doesn’t fill her giggling, that Chaeyoung doesn’t fill with some exasperated whining, that Nayeon doesn’t fill with her boasting, that Jeongyeon doesn’t fill with a bad joke, that Tzuyu doesn’t fill with her quiet smile, and of course, that Momo doesn’t fill with her hugs. Like a family reunion.

As the night goes on and they all become acquainted with each other, Mina sinks into a more and more relaxed state with each passing hour. There’s a sense of timelessness, a slow ebbing flow, an almost dream-like state of half-awareness. Like she’s there but not. Like the moment is happening, yet also not. The strange feeling isn’t entirely foreign; it’s exactly the same as when she wandered the other’s realms and she can’t help but wish it would continue. Mina doesn’t know where or when this is, but it’s here. It’s going well—good even.

But good things also never last.

Maybe it’s an irrational fear that everything will end. That Mina will be alone. That she’ll be vulnerable. Except that’s all she’s experienced so far.

_I don’t want this to end._

The instant that thought passes through her head and heart, Mina feels a whoosh as she’s sent backward, still seated cross-legged but she’s not in the cabin anymore, and her friends are nowhere to be seen. Instead she’s sitting in a grass field not unlike Dahyun’s realm, except the long blades are golden and shimmer with a nostalgic warmth. The clouds overhead roll lazily, and the sky is more of a pale baby blue than a bright one.

“Hello.”

Mina looks up and swallows. “Uh hi.”

There’s a woman floating down towards her until they’re eye level, with flowing cocoa brown hair and a well-endowed body, skin just a shade lighter than Tzuyu’s. Mina can’t tell what she’s wearing, it keeps changing. One minute it’s a simple white robe and the next a dress of crystal.

“I’m Mina.”

She nods and smiles warmly, “You can call me Jihyo.”

“So um, where am I?”

“Nowhere in particular. This is just one of the realms I reside in.”

“Ah...”

“I brought you here because I have an offer. I can take away your curse.” She doesn’t beat around the bush. “You may return to your human life. Free of suffering from the knowledge and contact of the creatures of the night.”

Mina doesn’t either. She sighs, “And what do you want in return?”

“In return?” Jihyo blinks innocently. “Nothing at all. It’s just a whim of mine you’re not required to give me anything.”

 _Huh. She’s different from the others._ And it’s a tempting offer. It’s also kind of redundant—or straight ridiculous, she realizes now thinking of Sana’s magical garden, Tzuyu’s lush forest, Dahyun’s bright plains and Chaeyoung’s quaint hill, that they’re called creatures of the night. It’s not a curse at all.

“Can you bring my parents back?” Mina inquires first, not expecting a favorable answer.

Jihyo’s eyes immediately change to emit sadness. “No, I’m afraid I can’t give you what isn’t yours. Their lives are theirs, and have ended. I’m sorry.”

Mina’s chest constricts and she smiles bittersweetly. “It’s okay.” She states and gets a hesitant nod of understanding. Mina sucks in a deep breath, then exhales slowly, counting the seconds until she meets Jihyo’s gaze, repeating, “It’s okay.”

Jihyo quirks a brow.

“Thank you, but no thank you. I...I think I’ll just live with it.” Coming down to it, the decision is a lot easier to make than she’d anticipate. Even if her parents could come back, Mina isn’t sure her resolve would even waver then.

“You are sure?”

Mina lets out a breathy chuckle, “I am. It’s really not so bad.”

She thinks of the people—no, creatures she met. If being with them means this night will never end, then she’ll gladly join them. As a fellow creature of the night.

\---

Mina returns to Momo. She returns to her friends – the creatures of the night.

She asks them to stay.

Finally, Mina breaches the topic she’d been worried about all night. Sitting in front of the crackling fire of the large hearth, she feels safe with them. Even if this is only her second time meeting them, and she knows this is weird – a bunch of supernatural beings playing house in the human realm. Mina knows they just met. Knows they’re not obligated to be nice to her. And she lets them know just that.

The silence could kill her. Sana is the first to break it.

“I don’t see why we’d say no.” Sana tilts her head.

“We all met because of you.” Tzuyu puts it simply.

“Cause you stumbled into our worlds.” Dahyun adds with a grin.

“Thank you for inviting us to yours.” Chaeyoung finishes a little embarrassed.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily!” Nayeon pipes up loudly.

“Shut up! She wasn’t asking you!” And Jeongyeon sports a bruised shoulder for the rest of the night.

Sana adds that she’ll just check back on her garden once in a while and Tzuyu will get her parents permission. Dahyun pumps her fist with excited yeahs and Chaeyoung starts muttering calculations about whether all her workshop stuff will fit. They all start discussing house rules because god knows Jeongyeon will kill whoever makes a mess of the common area.

Then abruptly and far too frantic than she need be, Nayeon makes a mad dash for the stairs leading up to the bedrooms, screaming the whole way that she’ll be calling first dibs on a room. This prompts a stampede from Dahyun and Chaeyoung and Sana up the stairs as well, while Tzuyu and Jeongyeon just trail behind. (Jeongyeon’s aware she’ll just end up sharing whatever room Nayeon picks with her anyways).

It takes a few moments to sink in, and when it finally does, Mina turns—last but not least by a long shot—to Momo, who only nods firmly with a bright smile.

“It’s like dorming!”

“Oh!” Someone reacts from upstairs, “I’ve heard of that!”

They don’t need to stay forever. Mina doesn’t need that promise. Even if they find new connections, even if they choose to return to their own realms someday, she will remain their tether. They helped her after all, so it’s only fair that Mina keep her end of the bargain.

(And she has all the time in the world to ask again.)

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is just an epilogue.
> 
> Find me on Twitter [@keiyuuart](https://twitter.com/keiyuuart) if you wanna chat or see some fanart ;P


	2. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned into borderline crack?...lmao

 

Everyone moving in is hectic to put it lightly. They have to start new human lives and some find it hard to adjust. Mina helps the best she can. (Though really, what is she supposed to say when Tzuyu asks her what tampons are?)

There are times where it doesn’t go well at all, because having nine teenage(?) girls living together is just a recipe for disaster. It makes Mina sighs exasperatedly wondering whose idea this was in the first place, until she realizes it was hers.

Food is a big issue for a while, because only two of them actually have jobs and can make a living to feed themselves. Nayeon complains about having to spend her paycheck on them (which Jeongyeon points out she provides) but they all just laugh and cuddle with the oldest because she never fails to buy them their favorites whenever she goes shopping anyways. Momo offers to hunt for them but Tzuyu’s horrified as an adamant vegetarian and tries her best to convert them all, which doesn’t end well at all. Long story short, Tzuyu gives up and Momo alone is banned from eating meat in front of her (because they found a whole smoked deer stashed under the ravenous girl’s bed and Tzuyu cried for a good few hours afterwards). Sana almost strangled Momo to death that day. They don’t speak of it.

Chaeyoung decides the best solution is to plant a garden that is comprised of 90% strawberries and 5% cacao trees, despite the rest of them all telling her that it won’t grow in this type of climate and that it doesn’t actually grow chocolate.

Dahyun just sends her a double thumbs up, waiting for the day she can make an endless supply of chocolate milk. Jeongyeon just won’t let her adopt a cow.

(“What’s the last 5% made of?” Tzuyu inquires one day.

Patting the dirt off her hands, Chaeyoung stands ~~tall~~ short with her hands on her hips and a grin that exposes her canine. “It’s love!”)

And Sana...they’re not actually sure what Sana eats. Rainbows?

Oh and Jihyo popped in once again to check on Mina, leading Mina to wonder what she ever did to deserve such a guardian angel or maybe her own personal god, but it doesn’t stop her from inviting Jihyo in as well.

(“Maybe you can stay with us too? If you want to. We have enough room.”

Jihyo smiles and her doe-like eyes crinkle around the corners. “I think I will, actually.”)

And then there were nine.

She hits it off instantly with Jeongyeon and Nayeon. As someone who can be more level-headed than Jeongyeon when the situation asks for it (which is a lot when it comes to those two, because now someone else can keep Nayeon in line while Jeongyeon goofs off) and wilder than Nayeon when she lets loose (which is quite a feat in and of itself). It’s almost like she belonged there right from the beginning. A missing puzzle piece that completes their home.

Mina likes to think that maybe they all were fated to belong there all along, with each other, no matter what realm or era they’re from.

(Thanks to her moving in though, Mina’s original opinion of Jihyo as an almighty goddess flies right out of the window, faster than Dahyun could even manage.)

Time goes on and everyone is living comfortably like they were born to do this, born like a human to live like one. Except they all aren’t. Not that it bothers any of them, especially when the modern age hits. Daily life gets so much easier with automatic doors, air conditioning, smart phones, and much more fun with online gaming (at least for Mina) and K-pop.

The building where Jeongyeon and Nayeon resided is renovated into a much larger, tall structure and being the ancient bougie individuals they are, they purchase the whole thing. The first floor is still a café, but now also a lobby, and the club downstairs is remade into an elegant lounge for their guests.

The hotel business booms (they’ve had years of experience after all) and Nayeon gives the girls the entire top floor to do whatever they want with.

The floor is really two stories, the living room having a vaulted ceiling with skylights and a wraparound balcony from the second surrounding it. The second floor mostly consists of bedrooms, while the first is several recreation rooms with the usual kitchen and dining and all.

Seeing as the ceiling is so high, the first thing Dahyun does is hang a white-roped net hammock in one corner off the balcony. Chaeyoung gets two rooms on the first as her studio workspace and Tzuyu claims the roof for her own personal zoo. Sana uses her powers to turn it into a quaint little park with winding sidewalks and aesthetic benches (that Chaeyoung designs) and denies it’s so she can play with the rabbits Tzuyu summons almost religiously.

Nayeon still prefers hanging out in the downstairs lounge, still singing just as beautifully, her love for the hobby never fading (now while wearing the most seductive of dresses as the age changes). Jeongyeon joins her there, mixing the occasional drink and reveling in her girlfriend’s voice with every chance she gets. As a rare treat, Jihyo sometimes even comes and collaborates with Nayeon in a duet.

Momo still prefers the woods over the modern setting of the city, though she does love visiting the occasional festivals and trying all the food stands. Mina trails behind her, occasionally wiping her cheek for a stray dot of sauce that may or may not be there with a small smile. When the night’s over (at least for the humans) and both satiated, they head home.

Jihyo connected their cabin porch to the third window from the left in the living room, so all they have to do is jump through it and they’ll be in a realm that really is outside of time now, the cabin standing nobly in front of them like it always has and always will be.

Momo and Mina return here often, not because they don’t have their own rooms in the penthouse, but they prefer the rural life, and their friends are just a window away. They get the cabin mostly to themselves, and cuddle in front of the hearth for most parts of the day. (Sana joins them sometimes, but Sana joins everyone in everything so that’s no surprise.) Momo’s body temperature is a bit higher than a human’s, and Mina’s a bit lower, so it makes for the perfect balance when they’re curled up in each other. Sometimes Momo will change form and Mina gets to cuddle with a big fluffy wolf which is just as great seeing as Mina’s love for dogs rivals Momo’s love for food. They’re content with each other, at least, until the other girls decide to interrupt them with their presence accompanied with excessive amounts of teasing, which happens more often than not. (Tzuyu loves dogs too and Mina has to fight her off.) They all share a good laugh in the end though, and a shared gaze with Momo confirms Mina’s suspicions - they weren’t ever really alone after all.

Though at times, Nayeon and Jeongyeon are banned from entering. (It’s the other girls’ safe haven as they leave the penthouse to ruin.) Literally, Jihyo put a ward up preventing the two from making it through the window during Nayeon’s feeding hours because they broke the wall too many times to count. And the door—all of them at least once. And their bed. And Tzuyu’s innocence. (Although Sana’s mere existence threatens that every day.)

Technically Mina’s forbidden during her feedings as well, but Jihyo’s too big a softie on her. At least she’s quiet about it, save for a few of Momo’s moans. As thanks, Mina doesn’t point out that Jihyo disappears sometimes during Nayeon’s feeding period too.

(“Why am I locked out too~!!”

“Sorry Sana-unnie! I think Jihyo’s ward keeps out all the dark creatures!” Chaeyoung answers from the other side. The invisible wall ripples between them, and Sana’s voice comes out a bit muffled but just as whiny.

“What is that supposed to mean!”

“Okay, naughty then?” Dahyun supplies.

“DAhyunnie!!”

Dahyun holds her hands up as if to say ‘this isn’t my fault’.

“Get Jihyo to take it off!”

“Can’t! She’s out saving some cats that Tzuyu sensed were in danger.”

Sana groans and kicks at the wall. “This is racist! Homophobic!”

“No I’m pretty sure Momo-unnie and Mina-unnie are making out in their room right now.”

“That’s why we’re out here.” Dahyun quips.

“A violation of human rights!”

“But you’re not a human, you’re a Sana.”

“CHAEYOUNG~!”)

The cabin’s outside is surrounded by a myriad of realms, a rainbow of colors and lights, each of their own connected infinitely and sometimes new ones appear briefly. They surround the space in a circle—a spiral, forever rotating. Sometimes Sana’s sakura tree will be out front; sometimes it’ll be Chaeyoung’s hobbit hill. They all visit their respective realms whenever they please, and the others sometimes join them. Funny enough, Mina is the only one who can venture into other realms that aren’t hers all on her own and still make it back alright. It’s a strange gift of hers and hers alone - they learn this after having to locate Dahyun one day.

Turns out she was in Tzuyu’s swamp wrapped up in the serpent who nuzzles her lovingly. Granted, she panicked and might’ve peed her pants just a little at first, yet by the time they find her, Dahyun doesn’t mind too much. The others are just worrywarts.

The days, the weeks, the years, the decades, the centuries, the millennia pass, and though Mina still fears the world leaving her behind, she knows her friends won’t ever. One look at Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, Tzuyu is all she needs as a reminder whenever she feels a bit lonely.

Mina is home.

 

**Author's Note:**

> A little [Mimo fanart](https://twitter.com/Kei_yuu/status/1106352074349047813)  
> 


End file.
